Plant breeding and the nutritive value of crop residues. Proceedings of a workshop

Presents papers dealing with the use of crop residues as livestock feed in smallholder crop/livestock farming systems, and the role of plant breeding in maintaining or improving their nutritive value. Discusses factors limiting the nutritive value of crop residues, and the effect of genotype and environment on the nutritive value of crop residues. Outlines perspectives and implications for crop improvement programmes. Includes recommendations

Sedimentary pyrite δ^(34)S differs from porewater sulfide in Santa Barbara Basin: proposed role of organic sulfur

Santa Barbara Basin sediments host a complex network of abiotic and metabolic chemical reactions that knit together the carbon, sulfur, and iron cycles. From a 2.1-m sediment core collected in the center of the basin, we present high-resolution profiles of the concentrations and isotopic compositions of all the major species in this system: sulfate, sulfide (∑H_2S), elemental sulfur (S^0), pyrite, extractable organic sulfur (OS), proto-kerogen S, total organic and dissolved inorganic carbon, and total and reducible iron. Below 10 cm depth, the core is characterized by low apparent sulfate reduction rates (<0.01 mM/yr) except near the sulfate-methane transition zone. Surprisingly, pyrite forming in shallow sediments is ∼30‰ more ^(34)S-depleted than coexisting ∑H_2S in porewater. S^0 has the same strongly ^(34)S-depleted composition as pyrite where it forms near the sediment–water interface, though not at depth. This pattern is not easily explained by conventional hypotheses in which sedimentary pyrite derives from abiotic reactions with porewater ∑H_2S or from the products of S^0 disproportionation. Instead, we propose that pyrite formation in this environment occurs within sulfate reducing microbial aggregates or biofilms, where it reflects the isotopic composition of the immediate products of bacterial sulfate reduction. Porewater ∑H_2S in Santa Barbara Basin may be more ^(34)S-enriched than pyrite due to equilibration with relatively ^(34)S-enriched OS. The difference between OS and pyrite δ^(34)S values would then reflect the balance between microbial sulfide formation and the abundance of exchangeable OS. Both OS and pyrite δ34S records thus have the potential to provide valuable information about biogeochemical cycles and redox structure in sedimentary paleoenvironments

Numerical investigation of the partial oxidation in a two-stage downdraft gasifyer

International audienceno abstrac

Overview of Acoustic and Sonic Boom Advancements During Development of NASA Launch Vehicles

No abstract availabl

Sulfur isotopic composition of individual organic compounds from Cariaco Basin sediments

Reactions between reduced inorganic sulfur and organic compounds are thought to be important for the preservation of organic matter (OM) in sediments, but the sulfurization process is poorly understood. Sulfur isotopes are potentially useful tracers of sulfurization reactions, which often occur in the presence of a strong porewater isotopic gradient driven by microbial sulfate reduction. Prior studies of bulk sedimentary OM indicate that sulfurized products are ^(34)S-enriched relative to coexisting sulfide, and experiments have produced ^(34)S-enriched organosulfur compounds. However, analytical limitations have prevented the relationship from being tested at the molecular level in natural environments. Here we apply a new method, coupled gas chromatography – inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, to measure the compound-specific sulfur isotopic compositions of volatile organosulfur compounds over a 6 m core of anoxic Cariaco Basin sediments. In contrast to current conceptual models, nearly all extractable organosulfur compounds were substantially depleted in ^(34)S relative to coexisting kerogen and porewater sulfide. We hypothesize that this ^(34)S depletion is due to a normal kinetic isotope effect during the initial formation of a carbon-sulfur bond and that the source of sulfur in this relatively irreversible reaction is most likely the bisulfide anion in sedimentary pore water. The ^(34)S-depleted products of irreversible bisulfide addition alone cannot explain the isotopic composition of total extractable or residual OM. Therefore, at least two different sulfurization pathways must operate in the Cariaco Basin, generating isotopically distinct products. Compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis thus provides new insights into the timescales and mechanisms of OM sulfurization

Use of Statistical Analysis of Acoustic Emission Data on Carbon-Epoxy COPV Materials-of-Construction for Enhanced Felicity Ratio Onset Determination

Broadband modal acoustic emission (AE) data were acquired during intermittent load hold tensile test profiles on Toray T1000G carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy (C/Ep) single tow specimens. A novel trend seeking statistical method to determine the onset of significant AE was developed, resulting in more linear decreases in the Felicity ratio (FR) with load, potentially leading to more accurate failure prediction. The method developed uses an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart. Comparison of the EWMA with previously used FR onset methods, namely the discrete (n), mean (n (raised bar)), normalized (n%) and normalized mean (n(raised bar)%) methods, revealed the EWMA method yields more consistently linear FR versus load relationships between specimens. Other findings include a correlation between AE data richness and FR linearity based on the FR methods discussed in this paper, and evidence of premature failure at lower than expected loads. Application of the EWMA method should be extended to other composite materials and, eventually, composite components such as composite overwrapped pressure vessels. Furthermore, future experiments should attempt to uncover the factors responsible for infant mortality in C/Ep strands

Rapid Organic Matter Sulfurization in Sinking Particles from the Cariaco Basin Water Column

Organic matter (OM) burial in marine sediments is a potentially important control on global climate and the long-term redox state of the earth’s surface. Still, we have only a limited understanding of the processes that stabilize OM and facilitate its preservation in the geologic record. Abiotic reactions with (poly)sulfides can enhance the preservation potential of OM, but for this process to be significant it needs to compete with OM remineralization, the majority of which occurs before sinking particles reach the sea floor. Here we investigate whether OM sulfurization occurs within sinking particles in the Cariaco Basin, a modern sulfidic marine environment with high rates of OM burial. Proto-kerogen in sinking particles is frequently more sulfur-rich and ^(34)S-depleted than expectations for biomass, with a composition that is difficult to explain by mixing with resuspended or terrigenous material. Instead, it appears that sulfur is being incorporated into OM on a timescale of days in sinking particles. The flux of this abiogenic organic S from particles is equivalent to approximately two-thirds of the total amount of proto-kerogen S at 10 cm depth in underlying sediments (ODP Core 1002B); after 6000 years of more gradual sulfurization reactions, potential water column sources are still equivalent to nearly half of the total proto-kerogen S in Cariaco sediments. Water column sulfurization is most extensive during periods of upwelling and high primary productivity and appears to involve elemental S, possibly via polysulfides. This process has the potential to deliver large amounts of OM to the sediments by making it less available for remineralization, generating OM-rich deposits. It represents a potentially dynamic sink in the global carbon cycle that can respond to changes in environmental conditions, including the size and intensity of O_2-depleted environments. Water column OM sulfurization could also have played a more significant role in the carbon cycle during ocean anoxic events, for example during the Cretaceous

Sulfur isotopic composition of individual organic compounds from Cariaco Basin sediments

a b s t r a c t Reactions between reduced inorganic sulfur and organic compounds are thought to be important for the preservation of organic matter (OM) in sediments, but the sulfurization process is poorly understood. Sulfur isotopes are potentially useful tracers of sulfurization reactions, which often occur in the presence of a strong porewater isotopic gradient driven by microbial sulfate reduction. Prior studies of bulk sedimentary OM indicate that sulfurized products are 34 S-enriched relative to coexisting sulfide, and experiments have produced 34 S-enriched organosulfur compounds. However, analytical limitations have prevented the relationship from being tested at the molecular level in natural environments. Here we apply a new method, coupled gas chromatography -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, to measure the compound-specific sulfur isotopic compositions of volatile organosulfur compounds over a 6 m core of anoxic Cariaco Basin sediments. In contrast to current conceptual models, nearly all extractable organosulfur compounds were substantially depleted in 34 S relative to coexisting kerogen and porewater sulfide. We hypothesize that this 34 S depletion is due to a normal kinetic isotope effect during the initial formation of a carbon-sulfur bond and that the source of sulfur in this relatively irreversible reaction is most likely the bisulfide anion in sedimentary porewater. The 34 S-depleted products of irreversible bisulfide addition alone cannot explain the isotopic composition of total extractable or residual OM. Therefore, at least two different sulfurization pathways must operate in the Cariaco Basin, generating isotopically distinct products. Compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis thus provides new insights into the timescales and mechanisms of OM sulfurization

Sulfur isotopic composition of individual organic compounds from Cariaco Basin sediments

a b s t r a c t Reactions between reduced inorganic sulfur and organic compounds are thought to be important for the preservation of organic matter (OM) in sediments, but the sulfurization process is poorly understood. Sulfur isotopes are potentially useful tracers of sulfurization reactions, which often occur in the presence of a strong porewater isotopic gradient driven by microbial sulfate reduction. Prior studies of bulk sedimentary OM indicate that sulfurized products are 34 S-enriched relative to coexisting sulfide, and experiments have produced 34 S-enriched organosulfur compounds. However, analytical limitations have prevented the relationship from being tested at the molecular level in natural environments. Here we apply a new method, coupled gas chromatography -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, to measure the compound-specific sulfur isotopic compositions of volatile organosulfur compounds over a 6 m core of anoxic Cariaco Basin sediments. In contrast to current conceptual models, nearly all extractable organosulfur compounds were substantially depleted in 34 S relative to coexisting kerogen and porewater sulfide. We hypothesize that this 34 S depletion is due to a normal kinetic isotope effect during the initial formation of a carbon-sulfur bond and that the source of sulfur in this relatively irreversible reaction is most likely the bisulfide anion in sedimentary porewater. The 34 S-depleted products of irreversible bisulfide addition alone cannot explain the isotopic composition of total extractable or residual OM. Therefore, at least two different sulfurization pathways must operate in the Cariaco Basin, generating isotopically distinct products. Compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis thus provides new insights into the timescales and mechanisms of OM sulfurization